Climb Mount Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Planet

We use local professional mountain guides (ASEGUIM certified) in Ecuador on all of our mountaineering trips. This provides local employment and professional development. We use local porters and arrerios (mule drivers) and mules for carrying equipment and stock our tours from local markets, buying local foods without packaging where possible.

All our staff, from porters to guides, are paid fairly and we encourage our clients to interact with their hosts, promoting cross-cultural understanding of the area and the people that are being visited. Our group sizes are small, keeping the environmental impact of our teams to a minimum. Waste is all carried out and we follow a leave no trace philosophy in fragile mountain areas. We follow a strict sanitary practice regarding water (not washing dishes in rivers or lakes, bathrooms at least 50m from water bodies).

We support a number of charities in South America. Huchuy Yachaq is the main Peruvian charity we support. We also make a positive contribution by being members of a number of organisations that work in nature and wildlife conservation – Galapagos Conservation Trust, LATA Foundation and Rainforest Concern. Our donations have helped to plant more than 100,000 trees helping to reforest Peru’s Andes, as well as supporting ongoing conservation work in the Galapagos and in three projects on the mainland of Ecuador.

We minimise carbon output from our UK office operations (turn machines off overnight, use low energy light bulbs, recycle all waste, bike or walk to work etc) and use non-toxic, fair trade products where ever possible. We share an office space with another company to minimise power consumption.

People

By working with local people on all our trips, we ensure we pay fair wages and inject vital funds into the local economy. We do this by using specialist agents on the ground with insight into the communities they live and work in, and working with locally-owned hotels and restaurants wherever possible. In turn, these partners employ local trek staff: porters, muleteers, cooks and guides who are all educated in cherishing and respecting the landscape and leaving no trace.

Fresh local produce from small shops and markets is sourced in and around departure towns and villages – we always prefer to choose local rather than imported goods. We use public transport whenever possible, and aim to offer our guests opportunities to meet and talk to local people, soak up the atmosphere of villages and markets and learn about the vibrant culture of our proud hosts.

Over the years, everyone that has travelled with us has helped good causes across South America. As a small company we are proud to say that we support the work of four charities/NGOs through donations and membership fees. These donations have contributed towards the education of many Peruvian Quechua children including paying a teacher’s salary, library materials and school maintenance costs at Huchay Yachaq. We have also paid the costs of setting up and hosting their website and have donated photocopiers, computers and other school supplies.